Road funding is on the top of Michigan minds again as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer proposes raising the gas tax by $0.45 per gallon to pay for Michigan’s crumbling roads.

A recent report ranked Michigan as having the worst roads in the nation. Recent incidents, like a major Detroit artery shutting down for emergency pothole repairs and chunks of concrete causing injury have elevated the issue.

Whitmer’s proposal would raise the gas tax in increments. When fully implemented it would hike the gas tax by 45 cents per gallon and raise $2.5 billion for roads.

But would it really solve the problem? Would all of it go to roads? What’s it going to cost a Michigan driver?

Answers to these questions and more below:

Q: How did the roads get this bad?

A: Michigan gets much of its road funding from the state gas tax, which is static, meaning it’s 26.3 cents per gallon whether that gallon is costing you $1.50 or $4. So all those high gas prices a few years ago? They didn’t put more money in Michigan’s road coffers.

In the meantime, vehicles have been getting more fuel efficient, meaning people buy fewer gallons for the state to tax.

And this has been going on for decades. Michigan recently hiked the gas tax as part of the 2015 road plan. But even after that, a Citizens Research Council report found collections, once adjusted for inflation, were two-thirds of what they were in 1975.

A report from the Business Leaders for Michigan stacks us Michigan up against neighboring states. Michigan put an average of 3.85 percent of its total spending into transportation from 2012-2016, compared to a 4.98 percent national average and higher rates from surrounding states.

And Michigan’s per-capita transportation spending of $355 is lower than other states too. Wisconsin’s per-capita transportation spending is $687, Indiana’s is $405 and Ohio’s is $479. The national average is $516.

Michigan is on the low end of state spending on a per-mile basis, too.

Michigan was recently rated as having the worst roads in the country and many, including Whitmer, point to this lagging revenue as a cause.

A: Every projection of needs is an estimate, and various groups have pegged numbers on the state’s road funding needs in recent years.

Perhaps the biggest attempt at getting an official number came from the 21st Century Infrastructure Commission established by former Gov. Rick Snyder. It found in a 2016 report the state would need to invest an additional $2.2 billion per year to get 95 percent of interstates, 85 percent of state highways and 85 percent of local roads in good or fair condition.

Q: Would this plan give Michigan the highest gas tax in the nation?

A: Yes. According to The Tax Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit focused on tax policy, Michigan has the sixth highest gasoline tax nationally at 44.13 cents per gallon (that number can vary, since it includes sales tax, which is based on the price of gas.) The governor’s proposed 45-cent increase would push Michigan into the top spot, overtaking Pennsylvania’s current high of 58.7 cents per gallon.

Q: How much would this plan cost me?

A: If gas is $2.99 per gallon, 68 cents of that is state and federal tax. That changes a little based on the fuel price, since the 6 percent sales tax is variable.

According to a Nov. 2018 report from the U.S. Department of Energy, the average U.S. driver of a car uses 480 gallons of gas per year, while the driver of a light truck uses 683 gallons. If the gas tax increase by 45 cents, that’s an extra $216 in taxes per year for a car and $307 per year for a light truck.